I. Field of Use
The present application relates to the field of consumer purchasing. More specifically, the present application relates to methods and apparatus for selling goods and services to multiple buyers.
II. Description of the Related Art
The buying and selling of products and services online, i.e., e-commerce, has resulted in a vast array of buying schemes that are used to vary the price at which such products and services are sold.
One technique to vary the selling price is volume buying. According to this buying scheme, sellers set one or more fixed prices for their products based on the volume of units that a buyer is willing to purchase. Buyers desiring to purchase products from the seller are each required to pay the same fixed price depending on the volume of units each buyer purchases. If a seller finds that the demand for a given product is greater or less than expected, the seller may later adjust the fixed price per unit of the product to account for such findings. Although the fixed price per unit system provides a simple way for a seller to conduct business with multiple buyers, one drawback of this buying scheme is that it requires each individual buyer to purchase multiple quantities of a product or service to obtain a discounted price. For example, a seller may offer a toy for sale at $10, or $8 if a quantity of 100 are sold to a single buyer. Purchasers willing to buy a few of these toys will not be able to enjoy the discounted price because of the large number of purchases required to receive the discount. Such potential buyers may become discouraged at such a pricing scheme and decide to shop elsewhere.
Group buying has also become popular. Group buying websites, such as Groupon, provide discounts to a group of buyers if a certain number of products or services are sold within a predetermined time period. However, there is very little flexibility in pricing. If the requisite number of buyers are not found, the product or service simply expires, and no purchases are made at any price.
It would be desirable if a purchasing scheme were available that offers volume discounts to groups of buyers using a more flexible pricing approach.